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The Politics Of The Mekong River
April 11th, 2016
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a detailed look at the politics of the Mekong River: In times of scarcity, nations compete more fiercely to meet their essential needs and defend precious commodities. Water is no exception, particularly the water of the Mekong River of mainland Southeast Asia. Mekong translates to “mother of rivers,” and the river […]
Read more »Water: Precious Commodity Sparks Fear, Feuds and Lawsuits On U.S. Great Plains
April 6th, 2016
Via E&E Publishing, a report on It took 10 million years for rainfall and glacial runoff to fill the sprawling Ogallala Aquifer. It took a century to drain a third of it and threaten its future. Spread under parts of eight Great Plains states — Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Xinjiang Bans Glacier Tourism
March 29th, 2016
Via the Asia Society’s China File, a report on the recent decision by China’s Xinjiang government to ban glacier tourism: The Xinjiang government has banned tourists from glaciers under the 13th Five-Year Plan in order to try and save the far northwestern province’s fast-disappearing ice caps. Home to China’s largest glaciers, the Xinjiang province has seen its […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Release Of Mekong Waters Reflects An Environmental Crisis
March 24th, 2016
Via Eurasia Review, a report on growing controversy over China’s release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March: Tributaries of the Mekong River. China would like to project the release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March to “assist” drought-stricken farmers and fisheries further downstream, especially in Vietnam, as a magnanimous gesture […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Plans More Dams In Tibet
March 23rd, 2016
Via Third Pole, a look at China’s new Five Year Plan which calls for a fresh wave of hydropower and major infrastructure projects on a Tibetan plateau already hit by desertification and climate change: China’s just-released 13th Five Year Plan — which sets out the country’s economic and social blueprint — promises to be the greenest […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Dam Boom Stokes Concerns In Asia
March 16th, 2016
Via Nikkei Asian Review, some interesting commentary on the concerns arising in Asia that China is seeking to turn water into a potential political weapon: China’s centralized, megaprojects-driven approach to water resources is the antithesis of the situation in another demographic titan, India, where the constitution makes water an issue for state governments and where […]
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